Hernando Cortes

There must be many times when the participants in great historical events can scarcely believe their good fortune in being present to witness the momentous events in question. Chance has its role in history; and whether Fortune or virtue plays the deciding role in human events is a question that we must leave to the philosophers. Cicero tells us (On Moral Ends V.5) that Theophrastus’s treatise On the Happy Life placed too much weight on the role of Fortune, and not enough emphasis on virtue.